Perly Gates

Tim O’Reilly has a longish essay on The Open Source Paradigm
Shift. O’Reilly says the Open Source shift (assuming here
that there is one) is a reflection of three long-term trends
(see the list below) and uses the trends as lenses to examine
the shift:

Software as Commodity (Software itself is no longer the
primary locus of value in the computer industry. The
commoditization of software drives value to services enabled
by that software. New business models are required.)

Network-Enabled Collaboration (Open source is the
“natural language” of a networked community. Given enough
developers and a network to connect them, open-source-style
development behavior inevitably emerges.)

Customizability: Software-as-a-Service (Software as a
process.)

He concludes: “But a historical view tells us that the
commoditization of older technologies and the crystallization
of value in new technologies is part of a process that advances
the industry and creates more value for all. What is essential
is to find a balance, in which we as an industry create more
value than we capture as individual participants, enriching the
commons that allows for further development by others.”